Module 5 - Video Review and Discussion 2323 unread replies.2323 replies.

In 1995-96, an environmental experiment of major proportion began in the United States with the release of over two-dozen wild timber wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Almost a half century earlier, wolves had been completely extirpated from their historical range in the lower 48 states due to a multi-decadal hunting, trapping, and poisoning campaign as part of a massive predator control program backed by the U.S. government. Only a small isolated population in northern Minnesota survived. However, public opinion over the wolf had turned around starting in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1970s, Canis lupus - the wolf - was listed as an endangered species under the newly-minted Endangered Species Act, and numerous scientific studies indicated that reintroduction of the wolf to Yellowstone would be beneficial to the environment.

Watch the 5-minute You-Tube video, How Wolves Change Rivers (Sustainable Man), highlighting the effect of wolves on the ecology of Yellowstone park. Pay particular attention to the concept of trophic cascades, and what happened to the species interactions when wolves were re-introduced to the park in 1995. Next, watch the 1-hour PBS video, Return of the Wolves, to and learn about the re-introduction project, and the scientists, politicians, local residents, and environmentalists involved. Post a minimum of a 250-word summary and personal review, and make any connections with the readings. Review the essays of other students, and post a minimum of two thoughtful comments of approximately a paragraph (a single sentence is not a comment), and reply to any and all comments posted about your own review.